Walter graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1905, and studied at Hartford Theological Seminary; in Edinburgh, and Glasgow, Scotland; and in Göttingen, Germany. At age 23, he spent a year in Japan teaching English at Waseda University. After ordination, he became assistant pastor at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut. He later became a missionary with the YMCA in India and Sri Lanka. Doctors had advised against his going, due to his weak heart, but he insisted he must be true. He died while working at the Foreman Christian College in Lahore.